Torbury International Airport
Torbury International Airport (Traditional Chinese: 多比利國際機場; IATA: TBY; ICAO: JTBY'''The 'J' prefix in the ICAO code is reserved for airports in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas.) is an international airport serving the City of Torbury in the Free State of Torbury, a city with a population 200,000. The airport is located just south of Long Yat Tsuen in the City of Torbury, some 26.4 km northwest of Torbury City Centre. The international airport is the largest in the Free State of Torbury. It offers domestic flights to all airports in the Free State of Torbury, as well as flights to major destinations across the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas, and several flights to destinations across the globe. The airport is operated by the Transports Imaginary (TPI), a national transportation agency for the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas, as part of the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas National Airport System and the Free State of Torbury Stately Airport System (SAS). Torbury International Airport is the busiest airport in the Free State of Torbury, and operates a large network of airlines. In 2012, it handled 45,139 aircraft movements and 2,162,357 passengers. The airport is the hub for the national airline of the Free State of Torbury, the Torbury United Airlines (TUA). The airport is currently the only airport capable of handling cargo traffic in the Free State of Torbury. History In the 1970s, as the City of Torbury is rapidly growing, talks of creating an international airport is increasing, to aid the city's commercial growth. There were several sites chosen, including at the former Torbury Ferry Terminal (now Torbury Intercity Terminal), and one at the present site. A referendum was held in the municipal meeting on 21 May 1977, to decide for the location of a future international airport. In 1978, given preference of a larger airport and reserve-able space for future development, the current airport site is chosen. The municipal meeting voted 57:23 in favour of creating the airport at 5 km south of Long Yat Tsuen. In the blueprint of the international airport, one terminal and two runways were planned to be built. The Torbury International Airport Access Road was built in late-1978 through the woods in Outback Torbury. Schlen Ascent and Oakland Heights Avenue were widened to further accomodate construction traffic and anticipated passenger traffic. Constructions of the airport began in January 1979. The woods in the area was cleared, and the airport was built with full lighting, radio, weather reporting equipment, one hard surface runways and one grass landing strip. The airport and its immediate area, totalling 5.3 km², is designated as "airport controlled area" (機場管制區), and operates on a separate set of by-laws from the rest of the city. The airport was opened on 22 June 1983. The first scheduled flight was TA-159 departing from the airport to Torton International Airport at 15:51 local time that day. Originally, the airport opened with the name "international airport", but only operated domestic flights. In 1985, when the Airport Bullet Line opened, passenger flow greatly increased. With the introduction of kingdom-wide flights to Gravenhurst Region and City of Watersauga in March 1990, air traffic also increased. A demand of a second passenger terminal and a third runway was proposed by Transports Imaginary in 1993. The request was later approved by the Free State of Torbury, followed by funding released in November 1994, and the terminal's completion in April 1995. The terminal is dedicated in serving domestic flights as well as cargo flights, with kingdom-wide and then-proposed international flights moved to bigger Terminal 1 (the original terminal). The terminal, namely '''Terminal 2, officially opened to public on 15 January 1996. At 08:12 local time that day, the first scheduled flight to Dhia Torby Airfield departed from the terminal via the new third runway. Passenger use and aircraft movements steadily increased for the airport, as international flights were finally introduced in 2001. It quickly became as the Free State of Torbury's largest air traffic hub, and the port that connects the free state to the international world. Beginning in 2005, Terminal 1 suffered from passenger congestions, with the passenger capacity quickly exceeded the limit. Transports Imaginary (TPI) swiftly responded to that by enlarging Terminal 1 to its current size of 54,400 m². Passenger use and aircraft movements continue to increase, and in 2012, both indices reached an all-time high, prompting talks about further expanding the airport and related infrastructure. Composition Torbury International Airport currently operates 7 boarding gates, with 5 jet bridges gates. There are currently two terminals, interconnected with a short, automatic pedestrian walkway between them. Currently the airport cannot handle flights operated on Airbus A380. Terminal 1 Terminal 1 (Traditional Chinese: 一號客運大樓) is the oldest and the largest terminal of the airport, alternatively named l'aérogare de l'avenir. Opened on 22 June 1982 as the only terminal back then, it houses primarily international and kingdom-wide flights. The terminal includes a tax-free shopping area, the TorSky Shoppes, offering various shops selling clothes and snacks to waiting passengers. The terminal features an "avenir" (French for "future") themed design by a French-Torburyian architect, Pierre Charles, featuring decorations and exhibits of technology-themed. Pre-clearance is also available in the terminal with custom staff for kingdom-wide flights. Terminal 1 contains most of the passenger gates, including 4 boarding gates, all of which equipped with jet bridges. Terminal 1 is also connected with the Torbury International Airport Public Transport Interchange (Traditional Chinese: 多比利國際機場公共交通交匯處) where subway, bullet trains, and buses services are located. Terminal 2 Terminal 2 (Traditional Chinese: 二號客運大樓) is the smaller of the two terminals, alternatively named l'aérogare de l'histoire. It opened its door to the public on 15 January 1996, and houses mostly domestic flights, and sometimes kingdom-wide flights. The terminal features an "histoire" (French for "story" or "history"), and features an old-schooled design, with exhibits of the local and kingdom history. The terminal does not offer pre-clearance service for kingdom-wide flights. Terminal 2 is also shared with cargo flight traffic, shipping goods to and from the rest of the world. Cargo goods are normally transferred to trucks at this airport, and shipped to destinations across the Free State. Terminal 2 contains 3 boarding gates, only 1 has a jet bridge, and 1 is used exclusively for cargo flight traffic. Other buildings There are several other buildings in the airport-controlled area (Traditional Chinese: 機場管制區), located along Cheong Wan Road and usually not publicly accessible, including: * Meal Preparation Buildings (膳食大樓) * Airport Administrative Buildings (行政大樓), where the administrative bodies of the airport is located. * Airport Control Tower (控制塔) is located between the two terminals and overlooks the air traffic in the airport * Hangars 1-3 (機庫) * De-Icing Facility (融冰設施) * Airport Promenade Park (機場長廊), a pedestrian-friendly walkway and park between the two terminals, and outside of the terminal buildings. Future Prospects To maximize airport efficiency, there are plans to either enlarge the current Terminal 2 (to accomodate both domestic and cargo flights), or to create a new Terminal 3 (specialized for cargo flights or kingdom-wide flights). While these plans are currently gazetted in the city's municipal agenda, they would need to be approved by the city, then at a state level, before the corresponding enlargement/creation of a terminal can be proceeded. It is estimated that the aforementioned plans cannot be completed before 2025, while with the current growth of population, the airport can easily be overcrowded in as early as 2018. Airlines and destinations Domestic Kingdom-Wide International Ground Transportation Situated quite far from the city core, the airport is well-connected to Torbury City by several means of transportation. * Motor vehicles: The airport is accessible via Oakland Heights Expressway, and via a local branch road Cheong Wan Road (which branches of Schlen Ascent). Other roads running in the airport restricted area are for authorized vehicles only. There are designated pick-up and drop-off locations in the arrival/departure halls outside of Terminal 1. * Buses: Buses in the City of Torbury is strictly operated by Human Transit Corporation, which offers a bus route - [[Human Transit Corporation route 15 'Schlen Ascent'|'15A / 15B' Schlen Ascent TO Airport]]. It connects the airport to the communities of New Torbury and Torbury West, as well as destinations along Schlen Ascent. * Rapid Transit: The Human Transit Corporation also operates two rapid transit lines connecting Torbury City, one of which operates on a bus rapid transit (BRT)-basis, the other is a subway/metro system. ** The SPRINT Autumn is a bus rapid transit line that operates solely on Oakland Heights Expressway and connects the airport to Oakland Heights SPRINT Station. The line operates at a frequency of 5-7 minutes during rush hours, 8-10 minutes during off-peak hours. ** The SPRINT Orange (Crosstown Line) connects the airport and various locations in the city, and ultimately terminating at Torbury Centre Terminal located in the centre of Downtown Torbury. * Monorail: The Airport Bullet Train operates on monorail tracks by Human Transit Corporation in Torbury City of the Free State of Torbury. It is the first of its kind in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas, offering a very rapid mode of transportation between Torbury Centre Terminal in Downtown Torbury and Torbury International Airport, travelling at an average speed of 310 km/h, making the journey to the city centre a 6-minute journey ride. It is the only mode of transportation operating 24 hours to and from the airport. * Taxi: Taxis have a designated pick-up and drop-off locations in the arrival/departure halls inside/outside of Terminal 1. Taxis found here can travel to any part of within the boundaries of Torbury City. References Category:Free State of Torbury